Walt Longmire #19
in Native American Literature
Book Blurb:
Walt Longmire faces one of his most challenging crime scenes as he tries to reckon with the revelations of his last case where he confronted the ghosts of his past and questioned the very nature of justice and mercy in the hard country of the West.
Deep in the heart of the Wyoming countryside, Sheriff of Absaroka County Walt Longmire is called to a crime scene like few others that he has seen. This crime brings up issues that go back to Walt’s grandfather’s time in Wyoming, as the revelations he learns about his grandfather come back to offer clues and motives for Walt’s investigation. Filled with back-country action, and with the great cast of characters that listeners have come to love with the Longmire series, this new book will be sure to satisfy both long-time listeners and those new to the series.
My Review:
Boy howdy, do I love getting back to that Longmire we’ve come to know and love along with all his cronies—all admittedly getting older (aren’t we all)—crustier around the edges but finally (in Longmire’s case) ready to admit he might need to slow down a bit.
The nineteenth installment of this successful series finds Longmire still recovering a bit from the sustained injuries received in Book 18, Hell and Back. Gees, he’s how old now? Actually, considering retirement? But first, he must take Dog and search for a woman whose GPS left her stranded and lost in the mountains with a storm coming on. He and Dog find her, but Dog also finds an interesting artifact stuck in the crags that will start a deep dive into an old, cold case. And it appears one that his grandfather might have been involved in.
Longmire is seldom on a simple case. No. This one is the same—the deeper the dive, the stickier the wicket. The reader is treated to most of the favorites, from Henry Standing Bear of the Red Pony to Vic, his deputy. In a moment of quiet reflection with Vic, he manages to make hash of what should have been a well-thought-out and tender, emotional moment. She disappears—pretty much the rest of the novel.
The reader is also treated to that wonderful narrator’s voice of George Guidall who sells the concept and the character of Longmire so well, it’d be impossible not to become engaged with both him and Absaroka County.
The investigation, as we’ve come to expect in a Longmire narrative, gets real complex real quick. There are flashbacks that fill in scenes from his grandfather’s life in the forties and the situation that appears to lead to monumental money chicanery that might involve billions. That’s B—billions of dollars—and an excellent reason to convince Longmire to knock off with the investigation already!
You know he won’t.
Love the mystery, love the well-plotted and paced storyline, the Western good ole boy but don’t take me for a fool, conversations. Yes, prose among the subtle conversations and developments with the characters (think Vic). Always another story in there and they don’t get old. This one is back on track after a couple slightly tilt, but can’t say I didn’t enjoy them as well.
Love the Longmire series! I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Native American Literature, Western Fiction
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0C5NZ1P9S
Listening Length: 9 hrs 43 mins
Narrator: George Guidall
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Longmire Defense [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
The Author: Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir, and the Prix SNCF du Polar. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 25.
http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/
The Narrator: George Guidall is a prolific audiobook narrator and theatre actor. As of November 2014, he had recorded over 1,270 audiobooks, which was believed to be the record at the time. Wikipedia
©2024 V Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 